It's Been "Sweded!" Incorporating Internet Memes into Assignment Designs
THE COURSE:
English 553: 20th Century U.S. Fiction.
[BN: I am not a literature person by training, but more of a dilettante from the field of rhet/comp who geeks out over the genre.]
ENG 553 is an upper-level course (theme varies by instructor). For this course, I had students read, listen to, and view a variety of sci-fi texts across the century (including works by: Orson Wells, Ridley Scott, William Gibson, Octavia Butler, and others). Students wrote two main papers for the course, kept a "sci-fi scrapbook," and completed a collaborative group project: the "sweded" presentation.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Join the brave and able crew of the USS English 553 as we venture into the strange, harrowing world of Science Fiction. Our mission: to explore the genre as it evolves over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. Alien invasions, computer-augmented realities, berzerker humanoid robots, government-engineered nanoviruses, and so much more await us on our fateful journey. This course will focus exclusively on U.S. Sci-Fi from the early 20th century until present day, and will feature not only literature, but television, film, and other media forms as well.
It is often argued that sci-fi presents to us not so much an image of future worlds, but a fresh, destabilizing commentary on our present condition. Drawing upon this premise, a central line of inquiry for this course will be defining the genre and identifying the kind of work it does. Consequently, one thread in our reading will be some fundamental work in genre theory. Coursework includes critical essays and a major presentation-based project.
THE PROMPT:
[The following is the actual prompt assigned to students in English 553.]
"Sweded" Sci-Fi Show-and-Tell Presentation. Here is your opportunity to present to the class those sci-fi texts not covered on the syllabus--the "I can't believe you didn't have us read/watch X" or "People really need to know more about Y" moments all of you have likely had at one point or other this quarter.
Be Kind Rerwind (2007)
Your in-class presentation will consist of two parts:
A 2-page response to the selected text, in which you offer us a short synopsis and discuss what/how it contributes to the sci-fi genre. Does it reinforce traditional generic concepts, or does it complicate them in interesting or productive ways? Be sure to address the issue of genre in the manner we've discussed it in class, as both a set of formal conventions, and as a type of cultural problem-solving.
A "Sweded" version of your chosen text. This concept comes from the 2007 Michel Gondry film Be Kind Rewind, and has recently become a popular Internet meme (search YouTube). Essentially, you'll create a short, parodic version of your selection based on the available means of production at your disposal. These do not have to be video productions, either, so use whatever form/medium you feel comfortable using: a digital slideshow with voiceover, an old-timey radio show, a short comic book, a mini-album complete with album art and liner notes, or something in a similar vein. These presentations should be creative, and they should give the audience a sense of your text's storyline as well as how it contributes to the genre.
POSSIBLE TOPICS:
Literature: Snowcrash,Ender's Game, Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, Fahrenheit 451, ...
Film: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Terminator, Alien, Matrix, Metropolis, Donnie Darko, Iron Giant, E.T, ...
Television: Greatest American Hero, Original BSG, Buck Rogers, Firefly, MST3000, Third Rock from the Sun, Futurama, Thunderbirds, Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap, V, Lost, X-Files, ...
Comics/Graphic Novels: Y: The Last Man, NYC Mech, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Gian Robot Warriors, (plus adaptations) ...
Video Games: Halo, Planetside, Mech Commander, Half-Life, Metroid, Pimkin, (plus sequels and adaptations) ...
Albums: Deltron 3030, The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (vol. 1), The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein,Operation Mindcrime, Kilroy was Here, ...
Don't miss the upcoming mini-documentary "Sue Oakes on Sci-Fi," where the OSU-Marion instructor discusses her favorite writers, including Dana Stabenow, Marge Piercy, Mary Doria Russell, Margaret Atwood, and Greg Bear!
SPECS:
You can work alone or with a partner (but no more than two)
Total time allotment: 15 minutes maximum (breakdown is approx. 5 minutes for part one, 10 minutes for part two)
Sign-up sheet: a sign-up sheet will be posted on Wednesday, and slots will be designated on a first-come, first-served basis
THE WORK:
[I'm only including screencaps here--at the workshop, I've put together a highlights reel.]
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
JURASSIC PARK (1993)
THEY LIVE (1988)
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
TREMORS (1990)
THE FEEDBACK:
My general impression of the "Sweded" assignment was that it was mostly well received, although a few students found the technological learning curve a little daunting. For future versions of this assignment, I also plan to emphasize the genre analysis portion of the assignment, since some students didn't seem to invest enough time in that portion of the assignment (although there were some genuinely interesting takes on this, such as arguing that Night of the Living Dead, while not strictly sci-fi, constituted a sort of generic "outlier" because the source of the zombie outbreak was extra-terrestrial and the film addressed common sci-fi themes of the late '60s such as distrust of institutional structures, the paranoia of invasion by Others, and the social politics of race and gender).
Discursive feedback, from which I quote here, mostly confirmed my impressions. Asked what components of the course students found most rewarding or most difficult, students responded (constructive and critical responses highlighted in red):
"I liked the 'sweded' presentations best."
"Sweded presentations were amazing. Keep those going; group work is fun and rewarding."
"sweded presentation/learning new technology"
"The Sweded was the best. I hate discussion (too much discussion). ACTIVE learning!"
"The 'sweded' presentations gave a fun way to look at an assignment: they were really awesome to do."
"The sweded presentations definitely need more time to give better reflections."
"Sweded. definitely sweded."
"The sweded presentation deal was awesome and fun."
"The projects were good, but didn't really help me understand the material any more."
"the sweded presentation helped me loosen up. Maybe be more strict so people will adhere exactly to the specs."
"Swede presentations were great stuff."
"Sweded presentation was difficult because technology was a challenge."
Ben McCorkle | OSU Marion | mccorkle.12@osu.eduIt's Been "Sweded!" Incorporating Internet Memes into Assignment Designs
THE COURSE:
English 553: 20th Century U.S. Fiction.
[BN: I am not a literature person by training, but more of a dilettante from the field of rhet/comp who geeks out over the genre.]ENG 553 is an upper-level course (theme varies by instructor). For this course, I had students read, listen to, and view a variety of sci-fi texts across the century (including works by: Orson Wells, Ridley Scott, William Gibson, Octavia Butler, and others). Students wrote two main papers for the course, kept a "sci-fi scrapbook," and completed a collaborative group project: the "sweded" presentation.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Join the brave and able crew of the USS English 553 as we venture into the strange, harrowing world of Science Fiction. Our mission: to explore the genre as it evolves over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. Alien invasions, computer-augmented realities, berzerker humanoid robots, government-engineered nanoviruses, and so much more await us on our fateful journey. This course will focus exclusively on U.S. Sci-Fi from the early 20th century until present day, and will feature not only literature, but television, film, and other media forms as well.
It is often argued that sci-fi presents to us not so much an image of future worlds, but a fresh, destabilizing commentary on our present condition. Drawing upon this premise, a central line of inquiry for this course will be defining the genre and identifying the kind of work it does. Consequently, one thread in our reading will be some fundamental work in genre theory. Coursework includes critical essays and a major presentation-based project.
THE PROMPT:
[The following is the actual prompt assigned to students in English 553.]"Sweded" Sci-Fi Show-and-Tell Presentation. Here is your opportunity to present to the class those sci-fi texts not covered on the syllabus--the "I can't believe you didn't have us read/watch X" or "People really need to know more about Y" moments all of you have likely had at one point or other this quarter.
Your in-class presentation will consist of two parts:
- A 2-page response to the selected text, in which you offer us a short synopsis and discuss what/how it contributes to the sci-fi genre. Does it reinforce traditional generic concepts, or does it complicate them in interesting or productive ways? Be sure to address the issue of genre in the manner we've discussed it in class, as both a set of formal conventions, and as a type of cultural problem-solving.
- A "Sweded" version of your chosen text. This concept comes from the 2007 Michel Gondry film Be Kind Rewind, and has recently become a popular Internet meme (search YouTube). Essentially, you'll create a short, parodic version of your selection based on the available means of production at your disposal. These do not have to be video productions, either, so use whatever form/medium you feel comfortable using: a digital slideshow with voiceover, an old-timey radio show, a short comic book, a mini-album complete with album art and liner notes, or something in a similar vein. These presentations should be creative, and they should give the audience a sense of your text's storyline as well as how it contributes to the genre.
POSSIBLE TOPICS:- Literature: Snowcrash, Ender's Game, Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, Fahrenheit 451, ...
- Film: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Terminator, Alien, Matrix, Metropolis, Donnie Darko, Iron Giant, E.T, ...
- Television: Greatest American Hero, Original BSG, Buck Rogers, Firefly, MST3000, Third Rock from the Sun, Futurama, Thunderbirds, Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap, V, Lost, X-Files, ...
- Comics/Graphic Novels: Y: The Last Man, NYC Mech, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Gian Robot Warriors, (plus adaptations) ...
- Video Games: Halo, Planetside, Mech Commander, Half-Life, Metroid, Pimkin, (plus sequels and adaptations) ...
- Albums: Deltron 3030, The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (vol. 1), The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, Operation Mindcrime, Kilroy was Here, ...
- Don't miss the upcoming mini-documentary "Sue Oakes on Sci-Fi," where the OSU-Marion instructor discusses her favorite writers, including Dana Stabenow, Marge Piercy, Mary Doria Russell, Margaret Atwood, and Greg Bear!
SPECS:THE WORK:
[I'm only including screencaps here--at the workshop, I've put together a highlights reel.]THE FEEDBACK:
My general impression of the "Sweded" assignment was that it was mostly well received, although a few students found the technological learning curve a little daunting. For future versions of this assignment, I also plan to emphasize the genre analysis portion of the assignment, since some students didn't seem to invest enough time in that portion of the assignment (although there were some genuinely interesting takes on this, such as arguing that Night of the Living Dead, while not strictly sci-fi, constituted a sort of generic "outlier" because the source of the zombie outbreak was extra-terrestrial and the film addressed common sci-fi themes of the late '60s such as distrust of institutional structures, the paranoia of invasion by Others, and the social politics of race and gender).Discursive feedback, from which I quote here, mostly confirmed my impressions. Asked what components of the course students found most rewarding or most difficult, students responded (constructive and critical responses highlighted in red):